“Do you know Kung-Fu?” I asked.
To me, the question appeared logical and natural. After all, he is from China. He might have learned Kung-Fu during his childhood days. And if he knows Kung-Fu, this is a good opportunity for me to pick one-or-two simple Kung-Fu moves. Besides, during dinner time we are supposed to exchange pleasantries lest boredom would creep in.
With a giggle my Chinese colleague shook his head and said "No". He continued with his Chinese English "Not all Chinese know Kung-Fu. Only little know. People of other country think all Chinese know Kung-Fu." With that he laughed.
That resonated well with me. I have come across Westerners, who have asked me about snake charmers. Not whether I charm snakes, but whether snake charming is common in India. I used to wonder what made them ask such silly questions. Now I knew. They did so to avoid boredom!
It is good to EXPERIENCE different perspectives. I thought.
"Alright. So... where is this Shaolin temple?" I continued...
To me, the question appeared logical and natural. After all, he is from China. He might have learned Kung-Fu during his childhood days. And if he knows Kung-Fu, this is a good opportunity for me to pick one-or-two simple Kung-Fu moves. Besides, during dinner time we are supposed to exchange pleasantries lest boredom would creep in.
With a giggle my Chinese colleague shook his head and said "No". He continued with his Chinese English "Not all Chinese know Kung-Fu. Only little know. People of other country think all Chinese know Kung-Fu." With that he laughed.
That resonated well with me. I have come across Westerners, who have asked me about snake charmers. Not whether I charm snakes, but whether snake charming is common in India. I used to wonder what made them ask such silly questions. Now I knew. They did so to avoid boredom!
It is good to EXPERIENCE different perspectives. I thought.
"Alright. So... where is this Shaolin temple?" I continued...
5 comments:
isnt snake charmers a thing of the past? i guess its terrorism, riots, bollywood and cricket now
There are some who still ask about it. I have come across a few. But a few years back. Not their fault though. Another usual query is about Taj Mahal...
strange - i just wrote about all this - chinese, kungfu....shaolin
forgot the link
http://historicalleys.blogspot.com/2008/12/bodhidharma.html
i have been asked by a client once whether all of us travel on elephants stil... happned abt 5 yrs back.
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